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dexamethosone and betamethosone - check eye pressures

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  • dexamethosone and betamethosone - check eye pressures

    Get eye pressures checked shortly after starting steroid eyedrops dexamethasone or betamethasone.

    Any Optometrist can easily check eye pressures, preferably with a non-contact tonometer so they don't have to put yet more drops on the eye surface. Keep the IOP (intraocular pressures) monitored. If the Optom is not sure and it looks borderline round 21mmHg (should be under) and you think they are trying to guess, then do 3 tests through the day + visual field test.

    Maybe not expect your eye doc to tell you this or arrange it for you because they do forget or trust to 'luck'. The problem with glaucoma, or temporary raised eye pressure, is that we don't feel it so we need regular eye pressure checks anyway, especially as we get older and more at risk, especially if it is in the family.

    Some steroids are reported as much less likely to raise eye pressures but then sometimes they have preservatives in, which we don't want.

    In UK, glaucoma eye checks are free in the NHS in any high street Optometrists for people on meds or at risk http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNH...iciansFAQ.aspx. If you use UK NHS, look for one of the larger chains trained and interested in supporting hospital patients. Sometimes they advertise NHS Hearing Services and they are currently tendering for Eye Service business.

    Do any other countries do this as part of the eye doc follow-up when steroids have been prescribed? If not, they should.

    'Ocular-specific ER stress reduction rescues glaucoma in murine glucocorticoid-induced glaucoma', Zode, Gulab S.; Sharma, Arti B.; Lin, Xiaolei; Searby, Charles C.; Bugge, Kevin et al. (2014) The Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 124 (5) http://www.jci.org/articles/view/69774. Interesting article on the mechanism of how the steroid raises the eye pressure, touching on how the fluids circulate in the eye and through the eye surface. Mr Unicorn, you might like this.
    Last edited by littlemermaid; 05-Apr-2014, 02:52.
    Paediatric ocular rosacea ~ primum non nocere
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